FINAL REPORT - Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism

ensure that Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo would win the election and as
I said the discussions that we were having included a report of a
pollster that would tell us how she stands at that particular
moment in terms of chances of winning and how the opponents
are also faring in their bet in their presidential race. And after we
see the assessment, a decision of where the programs would go
based on the basis of weakness of GMA and strength of the
opponent. Pangasinan was then known as a stronghold of Mr.
Fernando Poe, Jr.
ATTY. NERI COLMENARES: Can you recall specifically when these
meetings took place?
MS. DINKY SOLIMAN: It was a … it started in January. It was regularly
happening on January, February, March, at least once in two
weeks.
ATTY. NERI COLMENARES: During these cabinet meetings that you
mentioned to discuss the electoral campaign of Gloria Macapagal-
Arroyo, was President Arroyo present during those meetings?
MS. DINKY SOLIMAN: There were meetings where she was present and
there were meetings that she was not present and it was chaired
… and if she was absent it was chaired by the Executive Secretary
then, Mr. Alberto Romulo.
xxx xxx xxx
ATTY. NERI COLMENARES: Apart from your testimony here, do you
have records of these meetings that you mentioned?
MS. DINKY SOLIMAN: Yes, there are some cabinet meetings that had
been recorded with this matter being discussed but there are also
cabinet meetings where no records of those discussions have been
made.” (t.s.n., CCTA session, November 16, 2005)”
Actually, there are many other electioneering activities – recorded in official
documents at that – which we, as we are certain the public, would not have easily
discovered but for the Minority Report in the House of Representatives. We quote from
this Report:
“The Cabinet Departments and the Bureaucracy have been rampantly
used to undertake GMA’s campaign. Thus Malacañang issued the
following series of Memoranda to Cabinet Secretaries: Memorandum
dated January 7, 2004 on the subject ‘Focus Campaign Efforts On
Constituents’; Memorandum dated January 7, 2004 on the subject
‘Designation of Undersecretary as Liaison Officer for Campaign or for
Managing Governance Affairs of Department’ ; Memorandum dated
January 14, 2004 on the subject ‘Use of President GLORIA Instead of
PGMA In Billboards And Notices’; Memorandum dated January 14, 2004
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